Business process management (BPM) is a management discipline that implies a systematic approach to oversee, execute, measure, and identify automated and non-automated processes targeted at achieving the strategic goals of an organization. Therefore, managers use BPM to improve all processes at companies to make existing processes more effective and efficient, thus enhancing the overall capability of organizations to adapt to the ever-changing business environment (Beginners guide to business process management 2018). To start BPM at companies, the management is recommended to follow a checklist.
Steps for Integrating BPM into Organizational Processes
The first step is concerned with choosing a BPM platform to ensure that processes are built based on a good framework. This means ensuring that the selected BPM tool has such features as visual workflow capabilities, reports and analytics, and process performance metrics. The second step is selecting a process on which BPM can be tested; usually, it is best to choose easy processes that will not be hard to manage. Third, setting benchmarks is essential for successful BPM integration because of the need to measure the success of the implemented procedures (Looy & Shafagatove 2016).
Fourth, the plan should include both technical admins and functional personnel, including business owners, to encourage collaboration at an organization. Fifth, managers are recommended to test (pilot) their BPM workflows to ensure that the newly-developed processes do not interfere with the ongoing procedures. The sixth step is training personnel on how they should adapt their responsibilities to the new BPM system. Lastly, managers must measure the results of the program and adjust processes as necessary. Key performance indicators (KPIs) play an important role at this stage as they allow organizations to differentiate between valuable processes and improve their implementation.
The Impact of 7FE on Ensuring BPM Success
The role of the 7FE Project Framework should not be underestimated when integrating a BPM system into organizational processes (Lahajnar & Rožanec 2016). The framework is developed based on four phases and three essentials that help managers to regulate the assignment of responsibilities and the measurement of processes. The foundation phase implies the creation of a solid underpinning for the model. The procedures should be appropriately rooted in organizations, with the launch pat phase designed for validating this step. Both organizational strategy and process architecture phases are necessary for determining the extent to which the launch pad phase aligns with an organization’s objective.
Findings and solutions are linked to the understanding of existing processes as well as identifying suitable problem-solving steps to implement at the phase of innovation. The stage of fulfillment is associated with how employees and process development interact for fulfilling organizational goals. The ‘future’ phase is concerned with how a company realizes its value and reaching sustainable performance. Throughout BPM implementation, managers are also expected to consider such essentials as People Change Management, Process Leadership, and Project Management.
Summary
For managers to reach organizational success through BPM, they are recommended to dedicate time and effort to getting all workers on the ‘same page’ and training them in how to adapt to changing business environments. The overall effectiveness of organizations increases through BPM implementation because the system allows leaders to identify the necessary areas for improvement and proceed with change management. Collaboration between departments is a key component of BPM as it ensures the maintenance of procedures with limited disruptions.
Reference List
Beginners guide to business process management 2018. Web.
Lahajnar, S & Rožanec, A 2016, ‘The evaluation framework for business process management methodologies’, Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 47-69.
Van Looy, A & Shafagatova, A 2016, ‘Business process performance measurement: A structured literature review of indicators, measures and metrics’, SpringerPlus, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1797.